It is not uncommon for an entertainer, such as a rock or country musician, to switch between two or more instruments during the course of a performance. Having two or more instruments on stage presents a need temporarily to store unused instruments where they are accessible to be picked up quickly and played, perhaps being swapped with another instrument that is being set down. A similar problem is encountered when the musician takes a break and needs to place an instrument safely, where it will not fall over or obstruct movement, and where the instrument is readily accessible upon the musician's return.
The temporary storage problem applies to various types of musical instruments, such as electric and acoustic guitars, banjoes, mandolins, violins, saxophones, brass and the like. The instruments which a given performer or band may need to store temporarily but accessibly vary in attributes such as size, weight, shape, and accoutrements. Instruments may be relatively fragile. If they fall or are tripped over, the instruments are at risk of expensive damage, or perhaps impact or jarring that noisily disrupts a performance or puts the instrument out of tune.
Instruments can be casually laid down, often in an open instrument case, or propped up against a structure on stage. The instrument may be accessible there, but is at substantial risk. Space may be limited. Dangers are presented by movement of persons, props or equipment. The area may be cluttered by microphone stands, wires, monitor speakers and lighting, to say nothing of other performers and their instruments.
At the same time, live performances require quick transitions between songs, scenes and/or instruments. Periods of inaction (dead air) while waiting for a performer to pick up an instrument and poise to play must be avoided if at all possible. Competing structural and functional requirements apply. A temporary instrument support device should be compact and unobtrusive but it must hold one or more instruments in a cluttered environment at a position that is quick to hand. The device should provide unfettered access for picking up or putting down each instrument when needed, but must be substantial enough to prevent the instrument from falling over or suffering a damaging impact with a person or thing. For many musicians there is a further requirement that the temporary support stand be easily collapsed or disassembled, and sufficiently durable to survive rough handling, packing with other cases and equipment and transport between engagements.
Collapsible devices to be erected on site for accessible temporary storage of musical instruments are known. Storage, particularly in the performing environment, are well known in the art. Hasterok et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,774,096, for example, discloses a musical instrument holder which provides accessible storage of a single instrument. Sherrard--U.S. Pat. No. 2,058,184--discloses a musical instrument storage rack for a multiple stringed instruments. This device appears to be primarily intended for use in a fixed environment such as a school, in that it is not readily collapsed or disassembled for shipment. Mann--U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,786--and Gathright--U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,480--disclose collapsible folding devices for the temporary storage of musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments.
The typical instrument holder in use by performers is a collapsible tripod-like arrangement. Two front legs are laterally spaced or collapsible together, and have forwardly protruding support hooks that reside under an instrument such as under the body of a guitar set upright on the holder. The third leg pivots rearwardly such that the three legs are spaced to provide a stable support. A telescoping vertical member terminates at the top in a forward facing padded U-shaped element in which the neck of the instrument rests. Variations on this concept are available in different sizes and structures adapted for different specific instruments (e.g., strings versus woodwinds, larger instruments versus smaller ones, etc.). These devices serve some of the needs of the performer for a transportable device that is unobtrusive and provides stable and readily accessible support. However there is room for improvement, because the typical instrument support holds only one instrument (except see the Gathright patent), lacks versatility as to how the instrument can be supported and positioned, is not collapsible for transport, or when collapsed is a spindly structure that is vulnerable to damage when transported among cases, speakers, microphone stands and the like.